Rattata Line/RBY
The odds of getting a first encounter Rattata or Raticate is too high, it's actually very unlikely for you not to find one. However, in Red and Blue, you have a 50% chance of one on Routes 21 and 22, a 45% chance of one on Routes 1, 2, 4, and 9, a 35% chance on Route 16, a 30% chance on Route 17, and a 20% chance on Route 18. In Yellow, you have a 60% chance of one in the Pokémon Mansion, a 40% chance on Route 2, a 30% chance on Routes 1, 16, 18, and 21, a 26% chance on Route 11, a 25% chance on Routes 5 and 6, a 15% chance on Routes 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, and 10, and a 10% chance on Route 22. The Rattata line is popular in the early game for having a powerful Normal attack, Hyper Fang. It always ends up falling short near mid to end game because of its very low stats and lack of niche. It is also heavily outclassed by every other fast Normal-type attacker. Considering that you can teach Body Slam to just about everything, you'll have an easy time without Raticate. Important Matchups - Yellow = * Rival (Route 22, optional): Rattata can do some damage, but this fight is so basic, you can use anything, really. Use Rattata to take some hits and deal some damage if your starter is worn out. * Gym #1 - Brock (Pewter City, Rock-type): This gym is anti-Rattata, however, when people don't have a starter or anything better, people will train up their Rattata to level 14 just for Hyper Fang. That move is so powerful at this point that Brock will eventually lose. In addition to that, his Pokémon don't have Rock moves, so Rattata can win, although it will take a while. * Rival (Cerulean City): Hyper Fang is really effective against everything, but that applies to your rival's Rattata, too, so beware. In general terms, you should be evenly levelled or more if you want to deal serious damage. * Gym #2 - Misty (Cerulean City, Water-type): Hyper Fang, once again, would destroy everything in here. It's recommended to be evolved, first, though, because Bubblebeam will leave a huge dent in a Rattata, and Starmie is so fast that critical hits ARE going to happen. It would be better to rely on a Pokémon that can take Water and/or special hits better, since you can't outspeed Starmie at this point, unless you overgrind. * Rival (S.S. Anne): Kadabra is tough, but it is also at level 16, so Raticate should tear this fight up alone. * Gym #3 - Lt. Surge (Vermilion City, Electric-type): Raichu is best avoided, due to its high level and high power attacks; only tackle with Raticate if you are at level 28 or higher, and have Dig. * Rival (Pokémon Tower): The battles against your rival continue to be pretty easy. Fearow's Fury Attack is only mildly threatening, and you should be able to outspeed and maul Kadabra. The rest is even easier. * Giovanni (Rocket Hideout, Ground-type): Raticate typically only has Normal moves, but if you used your Water Gun or Bubblebeam TMs on it, it could destroy Giovanni's first two Pokémon. Persian is less dangerous, due to not having Slash yet. * Gym #4 - Erika (Celadon City, Grass-type): A strong Raticate could power through this with Hyper Fang, but with all of the poor match-ups that Grass has, it would be a waste of effort unless you have no better response to it. You can also teach Ice Beam to Raticate by grabbing the TM on the rooftop of the Celadon Department Store. * Gym #5 - Koga (Fuchsia City, Poison-type): It's worth noting that the Venonats and Venomoth are very highly leveled (up to level 50), so Hyper Fang would be strong, but a Psychic from them would make a dent in Raticate's frail defenses too. If you plan on taking them on, tread lightly. * Fighting Dojo (Saffron City, Fighting-type): Come on, this is the only weakness it has. Just don't. * Rival (Silph Co.): Raticate would do well here if everything else didn't have much better stats. Hyper Fang isn't powerful against Sandslash or Cloyster, and Psybeam really hurts now. Only pop in occasionally to take a hit or to quickly attack, but it would be best at this point to have a team constructed around taking down each type (Raticate hits nothing supereffectively with STAB). If you taught your Raticate Hyper Beam, it could likely do a ton of damage, even to your rival's more defensively-oriented Pokémon; it also doesn't need the recharge turn if you KO with the Hyper Beam hit, but be careful when calculating damage, because a miscalculation will cost you a turn, and possibly your very Raticate's life. * Giovanni (Silph Co., Ground-type): Persian and Rhyhorn are safe to fight, but the Nidos have Double Kick and should therefore be avoided. * Gym #6 - Sabrina (Saffron City, Psychic-type): You can set up (with X Speed, for example) against Sabrina's Abra, and then take down everything else when you're done; this tactic works for every Pokémon, though, not just Raticate, and Raticate will need more boosts than anyone else, so if you're going with it you should probably find something better. * Gym #7 - Blaine (Cinnabar Island, Fire-type): Once again, Raticate just isn't fit to fight such strong Pokémon. If you're doing this, once again, just stay away from the strongest one, Arcanine. It'll tear you apart. * Gym #8 - Giovanni (Viridian City, Ground-type): The team actually has Ground moves, so it's best to not fight him with Raticate. Also, Dugtrio will have Fissure, and it is faster, so that will kill you if it hits. Just get a flying type and avoid the Nidos' Thunder and Rhydon's Rock Slide. * Rival (Route 22, pre-Elite Four): Kadabra, Cloyster (without Thunderbolt), and the Eeveelutions are best avoided, but everything else is manageable. Flareon might fall to Strength or Hyper Beam, but its high Special stat and Fire STAB makes it a risky attempt. * Elite Four Lorelei (Indigo Plateau, Ice-type): Definitely avoid Cloyster and Lapras, and it would be best to avoid Jynx, also. These are strong Water and Ice moves. * Elite Four Bruno (Indigo Plateau, Fighting-type): Please don't. Onix can be taken down, but be careful of its Earthquake and Rock Slide. * Elite Four Agatha (Indigo Plateau, Poison-type): Raticate has Normal attacks and pretty much nothing else. You can definitely take down the Arbok and Golbat, but obviously, it'd be stupid to fight the ghosts. If you have to, make sure you have Dig. * Elite Four Lance (Indigo Plateau, Dragon-type): The amount of Hyper Beam in this fight isn't healthy. If you have Blizzard and want to have a cool story, you can attempt it, but you're going to need to clear the Gyarados first. It's not a good idea, but if you can do it, that'd be cool. * Champion Rival (Indigo Plateau): Everything is tougher. You can take Exeggutor, but other than that, it'd be best to just back out. You can brag about your Thunderbolt, your Blizzard, or your Hyper Beam, but you won't brag about it when it dies, and it's very likely at this point; Raticate's Special simply doesn't live up to its movepool. * Post-Game: It's a miracle you even got your Raticate this far. Let it rest now. }} Moves Before you can do anything, Rattata will have Tackle (and in Yellow, Tail Whip). At level four, it'll learn Tail Whip. At level seven, it learns Quick Attack. At level 14, it learns Hyper Fang, one of its signature moves. As a Rattata, Focus Energy is learned at level 23 and Super Fang at 34, while it learning those moves at levels 27 and 41, respectively, as a Raticate. Only Raticate can use TM15, which is Hyper Beam. Other than that, though, both Rattata and Raticate can learn Toxic, Body Slam, Take Down, Double-Edge, Bubblebeam, Water Gun, Blizzard, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Dig, and other moves probably not worthy of use on a rat, but still viable for niche strategies. The only thing that Raticate has that other quick Normal type attackers have is Super Fang. It cuts the opponent's HP in half. This can be useful for things with high defenses, and when combined with Hyper Beam or Hyper Fang, you could basically threaten anything to a 2HKO if you know Raticate can take one hit. Water Gun is not a great move at all, but it available right on the entrance of Mt. Moon, and if you can't use it on anything else, it could be useful for taking down Geodudes in Mt. Moon and Rock Tunnel. Dig is best saved for something else, but if you really like your Raticate, it could use Dig efficiently due to being fairly fast. Toxic could be helpful with Super Fang for breaking walls, but it would be overkill, so you really only need one or the other. Of course, if you haven't found a use for Body Slam, Blizzard, or Thunderbolt TMs, go ahead and spend them on this, because it'll love having those moves for better coverage. Recommended moveset: Hyper Beam, Super Fang, Blizzard, Body Slam / Strength / Dig Other Rattata's stats Raticate's stats * At what point in the game should I be evolved? Immediately. Super Fang is a useful move and all, but Raticate gets it seven levels later than Rattata, and staying 14 levels late as a Rattata would be painful. Only if you're going to need Super Fang, you don't plan on getting to level 41, and you are grinding it, not planning on using it before getting Super Fang. * How good is the Rattata line in a Nuzlocke? It loses steam easily in the mid-to-late game, but can be a very powerful asset early on, in absence of other options. More generally, it's the kind of Pokémon you'll want on your team for a while, but not for the whole adventure. * Weaknesses: Fighting * Resistances: None * Immunities: Ghost * Neutralities: Bug, Dragon, Electric, Fire, Flying, Grass, Ground, Ice, Normal, Poison, Psychic, Rock, Water Category:Red/Blue/Yellow Category:List of Evolutionary Lines with Completed Analyses